Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In the public health sector, a temporary Special Scheme was put in place for 12 months in July 2022 to support eligible staff who were impacted by Long-Covid. At the request of my Department, approval to extend the Special Scheme was granted by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP and Reform (DPENDPR) a number of times, most recently at the end of June when it was extended for a further 12 months on the existing terms for the existing cohort of employees already being supported by it.

DPENDPR have been very clear that this was the final extension that would be granted, and as such, the Special Scheme will conclude on 30th June 2025.

Any employee of the public health sector remaining unwell beyond that date, may utilise the full provisions of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme which will provide further support.

Employees who did not qualify for the Special Scheme but are also impacted by Long-Covid may also utilise the supports of the sick leave scheme.

The sick leave scheme provides full pay for three months, followed by half pay for three months, and after that, Temporary Rehabilitative Remuneration may be applied for, which, if granted, provides up to a further 547 days of paid leave. The Critical Illness Protocol that forms part of the sick leave scheme may also provide additional supports if granted.

The eligibility criteria set when the Special Scheme was first introduced were designed to ensure that employees supported by the Special Scheme included those working in a COVID exposed environment in the period before PPE and vaccinations were readily available, and before community transmission became more prevalent.

It was not possible, nor would it have been appropriate to provide access to the Special Scheme to all employees of the public health service who contracted COVID, as the contraction of COVID is a public health issue, and not an occupational issue, and as it is not possible to separate with absolute certainty, those who contracted COVID in the workplace from those who contracted COVID generally.

Further to this, my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection has reviewed the EU recommendation in respect of the recognition of Covid (not long Covid) as an occupational illness, however she has determined that Covid does not meet the criteria required for recognition in respect of the Social Welfare Acts.